Centre for Legal Technology Advisory Board

Sir Ian Huddleston was admitted to the Law Society of Northern Ireland in September 1991 and was subsequently admitted as a member of the Law Society (England and Wales). He was sworn in as a High Court Judge on 7 January 2019.

Prior to his appointment Sir Ian Huddleston had been a partner in a number of law firms in NI and London where he had both fee earning and senior management roles. In the main he practiced in the areas of property, tax and related commercial structuring.

He became President of the Law Society of Northern Ireland in 2017. In that role he represented the Profession at a policy level, locally, nationally and internationally on key issues such as Brexit. He also represented the Profession on the Council for Legal Education where he advocated reform of the Institute and started a programme of post-qualification compulsory CPD to improve standards and the public standing of the Profession.

Whilst in practice Sir Ian Huddleston sat as a fee-paid legal member of the Tax Tribunal – First & Upper Tier – hearing and determining appeals from taxpayers and/or HMRC on all aspects of taxation. He also sat on the Charity Tribunal which has a statutory based jurisdiction hearing appeals against decisions of the Charity Commission.

Ian Huddleston is a qualified mediator and recognises and encourages the value of mediation in the resolution of disputes.

Sir Ian has lectured for the Law Society, Queens University Belfast, the University of Ulster and the Institute of Professional Legal Studies on topics ranging from Property, Construction, Finance and Tax.

He also was, until January 2021, a Board Member of the Worldwide Board of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners.

Since his appointment to the Bench, he has held the positions of Presiding Coroner; President of the HIA and is currently the Chancery Judge. He also currently chairs a group of judges who are tasked at looking at the area of modernisation of the Courts/Court Procedures and use of technology generally and sits on the Audit & Risk Committee of the NICTS.

Stephen Farry is a Professor of Strategic Policy in Practice at Ulster University.

He was educated at the Queen’s University of Belfast and holds a PhD in International Relations. He was a Jennings Randolph Senior Fellow at the United States Institute of Peace, 2005-06.

Professor Farry has served as an elected representative in various levels between 1993 and 2024, including holding office as local government councillor, Mayor, member of the Northern Ireland Assembly and a Member of Parliament.

Between 2011 and 2016, he was the Minister for Employment and Learning on the Northern Ireland power-sharing Executive.

He participated in the negotiations that resulted in the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement (1998) and has been involved in many subsequent negotiations in relation to the Northern Ireland peace and political process. He has also been a consultant for the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs.

In his current role, Professor Farry has co-authored policy reports on public sector transformation and the adoption of artificial intelligence in Northern Ireland.

Angela is the Global Head of Advanced Delivery & Solutions at A&O Shearman (AD&S). AD&S comprises several offerings: a legal team, consisting of 140 lawyers and paralegals, primarily based in Belfast, who provide tech-enabled, cost-effective legal support to the firm and its clients across Disputes, Banking, Capital Markets, Real Estate, and M&A. AD&S also includes a Legal Process Improvement team dedicated to working internally and with clients to prioritize pain points, optimize processes, and deliver measurable improvements. Additionally, the team comprises 30 professional Project Managers who help ensure that legal matters are delivered on time and within budget. Finally, AD&S includes Peerpoint, which connects A&O Shearman and its clients with top-tier interim legal talent through our global panel of over 400 experienced consultant lawyers.

AD&S is the foremost user of legal technology within the firm, often piloting and testing new solutions. Angela sits on the firm’s IT Board and the London Executive Committee, is a Trustee of the A&O Shearman Foundation, and is a member of the Belfast Grants Committee. After practicing law in structured finance for over 19 years as a partner in the firm, Angela transitioned to her current role in AD&S in 2019. Angela holds additional qualifications in Lean Six Sigma (Black Belt) and from the Oxford AI Programme and the Oxford Bank Governance Programme. She also serves as a Non-Executive Director of Perenna Bank.

Michelle joined CGI in February 2022, following a successful 25-year career as an IT Sales professional within the ICT industry. Michelle began her career as a Software Developer before moving into Sales and Account Management 20 years ago. In her current role as Director Consulting Services, Michelle is leading the growth of CGI’s business in Northern Ireland, helping the public sector deliver Digital First services for all citizens of Northern Ireland.

Michelle led the CGI team that won the recent Themis contract, Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service’s flagship business transformation programme. The 20-year contract, valued at £85 million represents a significant step forward in the NICTS's Service Modernisation Programme. By redesigning court processes around the stakeholder, Themis will transform services and administrative processes across Tribunals, Civil, Family, and Criminal business areas. This ambitious transformation aims to deliver a digital-first, paper-light environment that will facilitate greater transparency, faster case delivery, and increased accessibility through virtual services.

Michelle is a Business graduate from the University of Ulster and holds a Masters degree in Computer Science and Applications from the Queen's University of Belfast.

John McMahon is a Solicitor with 30 years of experience as a corporate commercial lawyer, specialising in M&A, corporate finance, and renewables. He has worked in England, Northern Ireland, and overseas, both in private practice and in-house for large multinational organisations.

John trained with Eversheds in Manchester and remained with the firm post-qualification, working across the corporate, commercial, and intellectual property teams. During this time, he completed in-house placements with Zeneca and Granada Television. He later became a Partner at Halliwells in Manchester before moving to Bermuda in 2001 to join offshore law firm Appleby. There, he worked as Counsel in the corporate insurance and reinsurance department, advising on US private equity investment in new Bermuda-based reinsurance companies in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. He was also involved in the subsequent listing of those reinsurance companies on the New York Stock Exchange.

John is known for being a solutions-based commercial lawyer and dealmaker. In 2016, he co-founded McMahon McKay in Belfast with co-director Danny McKay, and has since developed a wide-ranging practice encompassing renewable energy, carbon reduction and sequestration, logistics, healthcare, leisure and hospitality, aerospace, and transport. He is recognised in the Legal 500 for his M&A work and currently heads the Corporate Commercial team in the Northern Ireland office.

John is now the Founding Partner of Spencer West Ireland with offices in both Belfast and Dublin. He is admitted to practise in England and Wales, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, and is also on the roll as a Barrister and Attorney in Bermuda.

John is the co-author of the current edition of Sweet & Maxwell’s Sale of Shares and Businesses and brings a wealth of practical experience and commercial insight to his work.

Timothy Brundle is an internationally recognised leader in research and technology strategy, policy, investment, and management. He holds the position of Director of Research & Innovation at Ulster University, the 2024 UK & Ireland University of the Year. Timothy directs Ulster’s research strategy, governance, and administration, and guides its economic impact through venture capital investment, business partnerships and intellectual property commercialisation. He also holds the position of CEO of Innovation Ulster Ltd, Ulster’s venturing and investment company.

To date Timothy has led over £600m of research investment, established more than 50 high tech startup companies, secured over £500m of Venture Capital and ensured investor value from company acquisitions and an IPO. He is an experienced and skilled member of the Board of both young high growth companies and mature public Institutions, including serving as a Director of many of Ulster’s spin out companies, private tech startups, the economic development organisation for Northern Ireland Invest NI and until 2022 served as Chair of Young Enterprise NI.

Noel is a well-known and respected business leader who has held senior roles in both the public and private sectors in Northern Ireland for almost 50 years. He has acted as an adviser and mentor for senior people in a wide range of industries. He has also become known as a unique specialist in public sector finance and tendering with almost 40 years in-depth experience in this area.

Noel graduated from Ulster University with a Higher National Certificate in Public Administration in 1979. He returned to the University to graduate with a BA Degree in Business Studies in 1983.

Noel has a number of current roles. In the public sector, he is Finance NED with the NI Blood Transfusion Service, Chairman of the Construction Industry Training Board in Northern Ireland and Trustee with the HMS Caroline Trust. In the private sector, he is the owner/Director of the consultancy business Nb1 and Chairman of the Continu Group of companies. He has recently been elected to the ruling Council of Ulster University.

He is a Fellow with the IoD and an Honorary Fellow of the Sales Institute of Ireland. His main hobby is singing in a male voice choir, the Lagan Seahorses.

Kyle is a graduate of Ulster University where he completed his undergraduate degree in Law with Politics in 2010, and Head of the Digital Services Group at Matheson, one of the largest law firms in Ireland.

As a recognised leader in legal technology, change management and innovation, Kyle’s key responsibilities include the development of strategic innovation initiatives for the firm, the research, deployment and support of a wide range of legal technologies, and the provision of advanced legal technology-enabled services directly to clients. He leads a talented multi-disciplinary team of lawyers, legal technologists, project managers, software developers and technical specialists, working on projects across the firm and directly with clients to provide the best possible client experience and outcomes in line with the Matheson Client Charter.

Having started his career as a practising barrister, Kyle transitioned to legal technology in 2015 when he joined a large international firm where he worked on a number of complex cross-border projects and managed large teams before joining Matheson in November 2018, where he became a founding senior manager within the newly constituted Digital Services Group.

He has worked and advised on a wide range of projects, both internal and external, and has advised on legal technology at a strategic and project levels. As Head of the Digital Services Group he oversees the selection, development, deployment, training and review of a wide range of technology-based solutions for both the firm and its clients.

Kyle is a noted speaker on the topics of legal technology, legal innovation, change management, Generative AI and associated topics. He speaks regularly at events throughout Europe and has also lectured at a number of academic institutions in Ireland. He has overseen projects that have been nominated for multiple awards including the Financial Times Innovative Lawyers’ Awards and the ALM European Legal Innovation and Technology Awards.

Olga Gezha is a legal professional with over 18 years of experience, having transitioned from senior in-house legal roles to leading innovation in Legal Technology and Operations. Before specializing in legal tech, she managed multi-jurisdictional legal affairs across 20 countries for KFC and Pizza Hut UK and led significant M&A transactions.

Currently, Olga is part of Consilio’s Digital Contracting practice, where she pioneers AI-driven legal solutions and oversees global rollouts of generative AI for award-winning legal teams. She is passionate about legal technology and AI, and is currently working on a side project focused on AI-powered online dispute resolution.

Mary is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland (ICAI) with over 30 years’ experience across private and public sectors, mainly in economic development, business support, and change management. As Head of Entrepreneurship at Invest NI, she leads Innovation Driven Entrepreneurship Initiatives and works closely with stakeholders to promote and grow innovative enterprises.

Mary also serves on the Governing Body of North West Regional College and is Vice-Chair of its Audit & Risk Committee. She holds a BA Hons in Business Studies and a Post Graduate Diploma in Management Studies from Ulster University, and has previously served on the boards of two local primary schools.

Andrei Salajan is the Director for Legal Tech & Innovation at Schoenherr. With his deep understanding of both legal and technological landscapes, Andrei is involved in the firm's strategic initiatives to leverage legal technology and optimise processes with the focus on improving efficiency and enhancing client services. His expertise in legal tech and passion for innovation make him a key stakeholder in adopting new technology and navigating the evolving landscape of the legal industry.

Beyond legaltech fundamentals, Andrei leads crosspractice AI programmes that evaluate, pilot, and scale solutions from key legal AI providers. At Schoenherr he is actively driving a comprehensive legal tech framework that spans across three interconnected pillars: a strategically layered tech stack, a multi-tiered educational framework, and unique collaboration with technology partners.

Andrei's passion for legal tech and innovation extends beyond the firm, as he regularly speaks across the European legaltech community and contributes to networks connecting law firms, in-house counsel, and technology providers. His proactive collaboration with technology providers has allowed him to help shape major legal tech products, cementing his reputation as an important player in the international innovation field.

With a background in law, Tadhg has focused on the intersection between digital innovation, transformation, regulation and governance. He has worked with global organisations to drive responsible digital transformation, implement technology solutions, and design governance models & frameworks that enhance efficiency, streamline operations, and foster shared understanding of digital & AI ethics.

His contributions to the legal technology and digital ethics landscape have earned him accolades, including:

LAW.COM International Legal Innovation Awards - In-house Legal Operations Team of the Year (2023)

Future Lawyer Awards - Legal Operations Team of the Year (2022)

Making a Difference Awards - Dinah Crystal Award (2019) for contributions to pro bono legal services

Tadhg developed a global consultative approach for Consilio Global Consulting practice aimed at the responsible use and integration of AI in both business & legal functions. Focusing on safe adoption and maximising impact. The approach has been used for global organisations like Natwest, Unilever, Magnum, Turner & Townsend, and more. Additionally, Tadhg has created global AI policies for use in companies which have a multi-geographic compliance footprint which required a harmonised approach to safe AI.

Previously working with CLOC, Global Legal Ops Consortium, tech vendors like Thomson Reuters and DocuSign, and various national bodies in other countries. Tadhg has gained a range of different perspectives for responsible AI development, deployment, and use.